In search of alligators

I am not a fan of alligators.  I have a healthy respect for them, and as far as I am concerned, there is no need for the two of us to be anywhere in the same vicinity.

But if you go to the Everglades, or really to many parts of Florida, you're likely to encounter alligators.  Especially if you are on a tour.  Because many tourists DO want to see alligators!

We started the morning by driving from Florida City to the Shark Valley entrance to the Everglades National Park.  We had reserved two seats on the 9 AM tram tour that takes a 2-hour slow drive through one area of the Everglades.

This was our first time in the Everglades so I didn't have any expectations about what we might see.  And I only had my cell phone camera, unlike many of the other guests on the tour who had their big-lensed cameras that I'm sure caught some beautiful pictures of birds and other wildlife.  Here are a few of mine.

We saw alligators.  We saw alligators up close.  We saw more alligators than I wanted to see.  Thankfully they were mostly just sunning themselves and being quiet.  Although the woman behind me on the tram was disappointed because she wanted to see them moving.  No thank you!

About half-way through the tour, we arrived at the Shark Valley observation tower where we were able to get an aerial view of the Everglades.  And the lady got her wish because there was an alligator swimming in the water beneath us.  I have to admit, it was kind of fascinating because it was swimming just by barely swishing its tail, its front arms just lolly-gagging beside its body.  Pretty efficient.

We reboarded the tram and continued the tour back to the visitor center.  I remembered to get my National Parks passport stamped while we were there.

After the tour, we headed west toward Big Cypress National Preserve.  Just before the Oasis Visitor Center is Clyde Butcher's Big Cypress Gallery.  We stopped here for a look because our friends Bryce and Rachel had told us about it.  It was pretty impressive.

The Oasis Visitor Center serves as the southern terminus for the Florida Trail as well as provides exhibits about alligator wrestling.  While we didn't wrestle any alligators, we did get to see more hanging out in the canal between the center and the Tamiami Trail.  There's an elevated boardwalk that takes you out where you can get a good look at them.

A few days later, we were visiting DH's cousin and her family.  Her husband asked if we knew how to tell if there were alligators in the lakes in southwest Florida.  Answer:  if there's water in the lake!  Ay yi yi!  But if you think this was the last day we'd see alligators on our trip, you'd be mistaken.  One more nature preserve, one more alligator coming up on Sanibel Island.

Stay tuned.

~ Cindy D.